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New Samsung Galaxy Note ad: freedom's just a stylus away (video)
Ever wanted to soar majestically through the clouds? Good news, freedom from your earthly ties is a 5.3-inch display and S Pen away. All that and more in the Galaxy Note ad after the break -- though as we can attest, the whole creating beautiful landscapes thing isn't quite as easy as Samsung's simulated images make it out to be. No one ever said freedom was simple.
First iPhone 4S TV commercial features Siri
The first iPhone 4S ad has aired on TV and very prominently features Siri, the voice-activated personal assistant exclusive to Apple's newest handset. The ad shows several people talking to their iPhones, asking questions, looking up directions, setting up reminders -- all in very natural language. Siri itself doesn't appear until near the end of the video, though, so people who've never heard of the feature before may find this commercial somewhat confusing at first. We've embedded a version of the commercial below (hat tip to Engadget) that someone filmed off their TV. The official ad hasn't shown up on Apple's site or its YouTube channel as of this writing, so we'll update this post later on when it does.
Siri, when will you run your first television ad?
...after the break. [Thanks everyone who sent this in]
First Nokia 800 ads spotted, announcing the arrival WP7 for Finnish faithful
Nokia keeps promising that its first Windows Phone 7 device will be shipping by the end of the year and, though the company is cutting it close, we may actually see that vow fulfilled. It's already been caught in spy shots a few times over, but now marketing materials for the Nokia 800 have started to leak out. With Nokia World only a few weeks away, it makes sense that the Finnish manufacturer would want a campaign ready to roll. The ads for what was formerly known only as Sea Ray talk up WP7's social features, with one declaring "Take, tag, sort and share. All in a flash." It's hardly a confirmation, but this is as good as sign as we've seen that Nokia will actually deliver us a little slice of Mango before it's time to buy a new calendar. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PlayStation characters say thanks in awesome new ad
We spend so much time lavishing praise on our favorite video game characters, we never stop to wonder what they must think of us. Sony did, and the result is one of the best video game ads in recent memory. Just one complaint: Where's Master Chief? Thanks for the gratitude, John.
Super-secret public PlayStation commercial teases ... something
Kevin Butler is at it again, this time tweeting a mysterious commercial that teases some sort of reveal for October 5. The commercial tells the story of two paratroopers entering a strange nightclub of sorts and is packed with PlayStation references, including Sweet Tooth's van from Twisted Metal, a Metal Gear Mk. II and a photo of Parappa the Rapper. We're also fairly certain we spotted a PlayStation 9 in there. Game Informer surmises the ad is merely a precursor to Sony's holiday marketing blitz. It's a likely possibility, though the darkest parts of Joystiq's collective psyche fear it may be related to the relaunch of PlayStation Home.
Gears of War 3 will have 'live' TV ads in the UK
Microsoft must be confident in early Gears of War 3 sales numbers, because the company has announced a new initiative to have "live" TV ads market the game. What this means is that during commercials, Microsoft will display the current number of players online in what we can only assume is an attempt to entice people who only want to play games that a lot of other people are playing. The ad campaign kicks off on September 23 and will run until October 3 in six different 30-second advertisements. Stephen McGill, Microsoft UK Xbox marketing director, says Microsoft is spending the big bucks to advertise Gears. "It is on the scale of what we did for Halo Reach and Halo 3 -- television is the main centrepiece of the campaign." Gears of War 3 launches worldwide today. [Thanks, ugotamesij.]
Looking back at Apple's 1984 ad
Ars Technica has an excellent interview with Steven Hayden, former creative lead at advertiser Chiat/Day and one of several people behind Apple's iconic 1984 ad. Hayden sheds some light on the behind the scenes negotiations that went into this advertisement. It's well known that Apple's board of directors did not like the ad and threatened to fire advertiser Chiat/Day, but, according to Hayden, it was supposedly Steve Wozniak's faith in the project that helped bring it to fruition. Hayden also revealed he had to interview with Scott Ridley's mother in London before the famed director agreed to work on the American commercial. For additional quips like this, check out the rest of Ars Technica's full interview here. It's worth the read.
Daily Update for Sept. 7, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Daily Update for Sept. 1, 2011
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes, which is perfect for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen.
Apple posts new iPad ad, "Learn"
Apple has released a new video in its iPad 2 ad campaign. The ad is called "Learn" and it, as expected, focuses on using the iPad as a learning tool. This particular usage is on the rise with educational institutions around the country providing iPads to students. Schools from Yale Medical school to a kindergarten in Maine are now using the Apple tablet in the classroom. Outside the classroom, adults and students alike have a variety of learning applications that teach you everything from tying a knot to playing a piano.
HP promotes '$40 billion' PC business spin-off with new series of ads
Before today, HP had only expressed that it "will consider a broad range of options" for the future of its Personal Systems Group; and now, said company's released a series of ads to confirm its intention to spin it off into a separate company. Amidst the lovely (and ironic) mention of HP's long-lived success with its $40 billion PC business, the underlying message here is all about "staying focused on our customer needs" and to "better anticipate change" -- much like being a start-up all over again, as suggested by Executive Vice President Todd Bradley on HP's website. Of course, the customer in question here is likely from the enterprise sector, as we've all learned from CEO Leo Apotheker's interview at D9, the death of HP's webOS devices, and the pending acquisition of Autonomy. Still, we've yet to hear more concrete plans or even figure out who the potential buyers might be (if any), but for now, you can take a gander at HP's "sample ad" after the break.
Droid Bionic ad has pretty much everything but a phone (video)
The new Droid Bionic ad sure has it all: a Portman-esque lady in an illuminated leather blouse, brandishing a giant sword against a Terminator-looking 'bot shooting lasers from his hands, all taking place in some crazy sky coliseum thing. As for the actual handset? Not so much on that front, save for a name at the end and a promised September release date -- oh, and the implied promise that the phone will literally slice the heads off of its Android brethren. Video after the break.
UK Advertising Authority smacks Motorola for misleading Atrix advert (video)
Oh dear. Remember Motorola's advert claiming the Atrix was the "world's most powerful smartphone?" Well it's now been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority. Viewers complained about the misleading phrase as the Galaxy S II has a faster 1.2 GHz processor, compared to Atrix's 1GHz. Moto said it meant "powerful" in the sense it could drive various devices -- the ASA didn't agree, since the phrase was read out over the final shot in the advert, where the phone appears in isolation. It ruled that as such, the advert was misleading and can only reappear on UK TV with the contentious phrase removed. Armchair adjudicators can decide for themselves in the video after the break.
Millennial: Android beats iOS in ad impressions, Apple top manufacturer
Millennial Media is a mobile ad network that has tracked mobile ad impressions for the last few years. The company released its Q2 2010 statistics which is its 50th overall report. To commemorate this achievement, Millennial compared quarterly statistics with a look back at the mobile industry since 2009. Similar to other metrics, Millennial's ad impressions in June 2011 show that Android is the top platform with 54% of total ad impressions. iOS is in second place with 26% of ad impressions and RIM slides into third place with 15%. This is a reversal from March 2010 when iOS was leader with 70% of ad impressions and Android had a mere 6%. Regardless of whether you like Android or not, that is a huge swing in Android's favor in little over a year. On a manufacturer basis, Apple is the leader with 30% of ad impressions. Samsung is in second place with a 14.9% share, and RIM is in third with 11.7%. These numbers are much different from 2009 when Samsung held a commanding lead with 21.6% of ads. LG was second with 12.5% and Apple was third with 11.3%. For individual devices, the iPhone was the leading device in 2009 with 5.8% of ad impressions and it retains its title in 2011 with 16.1%. Surprisingly, the BlackBerry Curve is #2 in 2011 (it was #3 in 2009). The remaining 2011 handsets are dominated by Android with the Motorola DROID (2.95%) and the Nexus S (2.71%) as the reigning Android champs. Another little snippet shows that the iPod touch and the iPad are the top two connected devices on the mobile ad network. The Galaxy Tab is #3. Touchscreen devices are also growing in popularity, rising from 33% of all devices on the ad network in 2009 to 60% in 2011. [Via TechCrunch]
Sony's Face-to-Avatar blimp soars through SIGGRAPH, melts the heart of Big Brother (video)
Telepresence, say hello to your future. Humans, say hello to the next generation of Chancellor Sutler. All jesting aside, there's no question that Big Brother came to mind when eying Sony Computer Science Laboratories' Face-to-Avatar concept at SIGGRAPH. For all intents and purposes, it's a motorized blimp with a front-facing camera, microphone, a built-in projector and a WiFi module. It's capable of hovering above crowds in order to showcase an image of what's below, or displaying an image of whatever's being streamed to its wireless apparatus. The folks we spoke to seemed to think that it was still a few years out from being in a marketable state, but we can think of a few governments who'd probably be down to buy in right now. Kidding. Ominous video (and static male figurehead) await you after the break. %Gallery-130392%
New iPad ad: 'We'll Always'
Apple has released a new iPad ad, "We'll Always," that demonstrates some of the iPad's many use cases and insists that the way we'll go about doing everyday tasks has been changed forever. We'll never stop sharing our memories. Or getting lost in a good book. We'll always cook dinner and cheer for our favorite team. We'll still go to meetings, make home movies, and learn new things. But how we do all this will never be the same. Whether you agree with the sentiment or not, it's hard to argue against the effectiveness of this ad and the other iPad commercials Apple's come out with so far. Apple is definitely pushing the device as something that can enhance people's lives, and as a thoroughly addicted iPad user myself, I certainly can't contradict them. Check out the video below.
Sony's latest tablet teaser plunges deeper into the rabbit hole, still tells us nothing
Ready for yet another S1 / S2 teaser video that tells you more about the marketing team's potential extra-curricular indulgences and absolutely nothing new about the tablets? Well, drop those tabs and strap in for some doll-voiced la la la's as Sony leads us even deeper into the late-night realm of desktop toys and the tablets they love. Shots of the stylish slates displaying video and gaming functionality are all but hidden in a "filled with fun" maze of booby-trap triggered contraptions. It's a romp through the sort of endearing Tim Burton-esque, high-art nightmare Sony's dabbled in for past Playstation campaigns -- so we're not too surprised. Hit the break to hitch a ride on this video wonderland.
Apple edges out Nokia in European ad impressions
Apple may be slowly releasing the stranglehold Nokia has on the European market. According to ad network inMobi, the Q2 2011 results show Apple has edged out Nokia in terms of ad impressions. Both Apple and Nokia logged over 2 billion ad impressions in the quarter, but Apple snagged 90 million more than the struggling Finnish handset maker. Apple's European ad share grew to 19.5%, while Nokia's fell to 18.7%. It's a small lead but a significant one. Nokia has been the market leader in Europe for years and this is one sign that its lead is beginning to diminish. [Via Venture Beat]
Vitamin Water bus-stop ad lets devices juice-up before the commute
Battery running low during the rush-hour commute? Glacéau's Vitamin Water Energy Bus Shelter by Crispin Porter & Bogusky wants to help you get charged while you're waiting to board. The new billboards feature a bottle of the vitamin / caffeine-packing drink, sporting a triple-USB port, which you can plug your devices into for some extra juice. Apparently, you'll be seeing these if your daily public-transit hustle takes you through the fine cities of Boston, New York, Chicago or Los Angeles -- we'd imagine owners of HTC's Thunderbolt will find them very useful.
